Ecology and pest status of moth plant, Araujia hortorum Fournier Richard Hill and Hugh Gourlay Richard Hill & Associates, Private Bag 4704, Christchurch 8140,
[email protected] and Landcare Research, PO Box 40, Lincoln 7640 This report reviews our knowledge of the biology and ecology of moth plant (Araujia hortorum Fournier) both in its home range and its exotic range. It summarises the weed status of moth plant and the current approach to weed management in New Zealand, and how the biological control programme fits with those strategies. Biology and ecology of moth plant Taxonomy Araujia hortorum Fourn. belongs to the tribe Asclepiadeae of the Family Apocynaceae. This family belongs to the Order Gentianales. Amongst others, the name A. sericifera has also been used for moth plant in the past in New Zealand (Winks and Fowler 2000), but A. hortorum is now the preferred scientific name (Waipara et al. 2006, Champion et al. 2010). Native range Araujia hortorum is native to SE Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay (Flora Europaea). Exotic range Elsewhere in the world it is a garden escape, and has become naturalised in Europe, Turkey (Altinozlu and Donmez 2003), Africa (Henderson 2001), and North America, and elsewhere in South America (Winks and Fowler 2000). In Australia it is present in all temperate states. It is common in coastal New South Wales and SE Queensland and is regarded as a minor weed there (DAF 2014sed 2011, PIER accessed 2011). New Zealand distribution Araujia hortorum was first recorded in New Zealand in 1888 (Webb et al. 1988), and was originally introduced as an ornamental.